Abstract P440: Household Physical Activity is Not Associated With Hypertension Among African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study
Authors: Samantha Cohen-Winans, Elizabeth Heitman, Marino A Bruce, Roland J Thorpe, Keith C Norris, Robert L Newton, Bettina M Beech
Journal: Circulation (2023)

Introduction: Hypertension (HTN) develops at a disproportionately higher rate among African Americans compared to any other racial group. Substantial evidence indicates that aerobic exercise mitigates HTN. However, only 41% of African Americans report meeting leisure-time aerobic exercise recommendations, the lowest percentage compared to other racial groups. Household activities have been reported as the most common, daily PA among African Americans compared to occupational and leisure-time PA. Household activities, such as major cleaning and caretaking, are a type of light-to-moderate intensity PA that is associated with blood pressure (BP) reductions. Among African Americans, women report higher levels of household tasks than men. Hypothesis: We assessed the hypothesis that the association between household PA and HTN among African Americans varies by sex. Methods: The JHS is a longitudinal, community-based, observational study among African Americans residing in Jackson, Mississippi’s tri-county area. Of the 5,306 African American participants from JHS’s Exam 1, 1,419 had missing data on key variables, leaving a total of 3,887 for the analytic sample. HTN, the outcome variable, was defined using JNC-7’s standards, systolic BP &amp;#8805; 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP &amp;#8805; 90mmHg, given that baseline data was collected between 2000-04. Household PA, the primary independent variable, was categorized as high or low frequency. PA was assessed at the baseline, in-home interview using the 30-item JHS PA Survey, which is a modification of the Baecke and Atherosclerosis Risk in the Community activity questionnaires. Sociodemographic characteristics, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and area-level factors were included as covariates. Total sample and sex-stratified multivariable logistic regression models were estimated to examine the association between household PA and HTN using STATA/SE Version 16. Results: Approximately 55% of the sample had HTN and 65.6% reported low frequency household PA. A significant difference in HTN status was found. The proportion of those with HTN was lower for those reporting high frequency household PA than the corresponding percentage for low frequency household PA (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69-0.90). A greater percentage of individuals under age 50 reported high frequency household PA. This association did not hold in the adjusted models. Household PA was not related to HTN (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.74-1.09). The interaction term between household PA and sex was not associated with HTN (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.77-1.44). Age was a confounder that attenuated the association. Conclusions: In conclusion, we found that household activities are not associated with HTN; however, this type of light-to-moderate intensity PA may be beneficial for improving BP among African Americans, especially among those who are otherwise physically inactive.